Sports
Colts Wrestling Dominates in Their Home Opener
The High School West varsity wrestling team soundly beat a strong North Babylon team by the score of 48-27.
After weather canceled the home opener last Friday, the Colts beat the snow on Tuesday night. An hour after the school district circulated an email informing the students that school would be closed the following day, the Colts stormed the mat.
The Colts traded victories through the first eight matches, losing two heartbreaking contests in overtime, as freshman Dmitri Francois and senior Joe Riscica worked hard, but fell short in OT.
Turning Point: Leading by a slim 19-18 score, sophomore captain Tyler Grimaldi took the mat. Looking confident, Grimaldi took his first shot and slammed his opponent.
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Unfortunately, the match was stopped as the North Babylon wrestler's nose was bleeding. After a two-minute delay as Hills trainer Ms. DiPietro tended to the NB wrestler's broken nose, the match resumed, only to be stopped again and again. Grimaldi ended the match with a pin 13 seconds into the third period.
From that point on, the Colts took control of the dual meet, winning five of the next seven matches, including pins by sophomores Joe Piccolo and Jagger Rebozo. Rebozo flattened his opponent in 36 seconds.
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The Hero: Rarely can you say that a wrestler who got pinned was a hero, but Tuesday night there was one. Junior Vinny Quagliattia, normally a 189 pounder, bumped up and wrestled at 215. The Colts' regular wrestler missed weigh-ins. Quagliattia, giving up close to 25 pounds, gave the North Babylon wrestler a good fight. Quagliattia gave a valiant effort and almost pinned the larger wrestler, only to finally get worn down. Again, Coach Patrovich's squad will not get outworked.
The Quote: When asked about the victory, assistant coach Joe Patrovich said, "A win is a win, and I'll take it, but there were a few matches early on that we should have won, but overall we are happy with the performance."
The Bottom Line: The Colts continue their winning ways, which was all the more sweet, as Principal Intorcia, assistant principals Ebanks and Pugliese, Athletic Director Joe Pennacchio, and a host of teachers all were in attendance.
Next Up: Since the Riverhead match was canceled on Wednesday due to the snowstorm, the Colts will travel to Riverhead on Thursday, and then have a home match on Friday night against Copiague and finally end the busy week with their dual-meet tournament all-day Saturday.
